The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) told the four companies in late April to show cause why their licences to operate in the US should not be withdrawn. The FCC later granted them an extension on their deadline for submissions.
Now China Telecom, China Unicom and two subsidiaries of CITIC Telecom International Holdings have replied.
China Telecom said via its US subsidiary – according to the Reuters news agency – that allegations were “unfounded”. The company said the FCC’s move was “based solely on foreign policy concerns in the absence of any evidence whatsoever of specific misconduct”. China Telecom’s “conduct to date does not demonstrate any reasonable basis for the US government’s stated lack of trust”.
China Unicom said in its submission that it “ has a two-decade track record as a valuable contributor to US telecommunications markets, a good record of compliance with its FCC regulatory obligations, and a demonstrated willingness to cooperate with US law enforcement agencies”.
CITIC Telecom International Holdings, which owns Pacific Networks and its subsidiary ComNet (USA), said that it had complied with US law enforcement and national security inquiries.
The move by the FCC follows its decision in 2019 not to grant China Mobile a licence to operate in the US.
